The suspension was the result of a hit Buonomo laid on Ottawa’s Connor Brown late in the 67s 6-1 victory over the Hounds last Friday at Essar Centre.

As Brown circled the Soo goal, Buonomo left his feet and delivered an elbow to Brown’s head.

The 20-year-old Sault native was handed a five-minute major and game misconduct for checking to the head.

In its ruling Wednesday, the league cited both the blow to the head and the fact Buonomo left his feet to deliver it.

“I’m disappointed in myself more than anything,” said Buonomo, who was originally handed an indefinite suspension and served Game 1 Saturday, as the Hounds dropped a 5-4 overtime decision to Barrie.

He’s not eligible to return to the Soo lineup until a Dec. 12 home game with Plymouth.

“I regret that it happened,” Buonomo added. “If I could re-do the play I would have made a different decision. That’s not who I am as a person or a player.”

The Hounds weren’t surprised by the ban.

“I was expecting it would be about 15 games,” Hounds general manager Kyle Dubas said Wednesday. “Frustration got the better of him (Buonomo) and the league is being very progressive on hits like this where the primary point of contact is the head. We’ll work with him and make sure this doesn’t happen again. Chris is a real team guy and knowing Chris, it won’t.”

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Dubas spoke of the passion Buonomo brings to the game and how what happened last Friday is totally out of character.

“He’s not a malicious kid. He’s an extremely hard-working, solid kid,” the GM explained. “He’s a kid who cares and when you care about something and things aren’t going well, it can be frustrating.”

Hounds head coach Mike Stapleton, whose team begins a three-game road trip in Kitchener Friday, said while he wasn’t surprised by the length of the suspension, he’s disappointed by it.

“The league makes a ruling and we have to live with it,” Stapleton added.

Buonomo also said he wasn’t expecting such a severe penalty.

“I knew they were going to come down on me,” said the former Barrie Colt, who came to the Hounds in early October in exchange for a fourth-round draft choice. “But I didn’t think it would be to this extent.”

Buonomo also said that while he does regret what happened, he will put the incident behind him.

“I can’t change the way I play,” said Buonomo, known as a physical player who is difficult to play against.

With Collin Miller serving the third of a three-game, league-imposed suspension, the Greyhounds (9-8-1-0) will be minus their three most-experienced defencemen Friday against Kitchener.

Veteran Ryan Sproul remains sidelined with a fractured left forearm.

On the positive side, rookie defenceman Kevin Spinozzi is eligible to return Friday after serving an eight-game suspension.

Miller and forward Mark Petaccio, who’s also been serving a three-game suspension, are eligible to return Saturday night in Owen Sound.

“It’s up to us now to support Chris,” Dubas said of the defenceman, who has a goal and three assists in 13 games to date. “We’ve got a lot of time to work with him now and make sure he’s in elite shape when he returns. By the time he’s back, hopefully Ryan Sproul will be, too, and we’ll be back to full strength on defence.”

Notes: Hounds rookie netminder Justin Nichols has been named the OHL West Division’s academic player of the month for October.

A full-time Grade 12 student at St. Mary’s College, the St. Catharines, Ont., native is maintaining a scholastic average of 90% in the first semester.